Deceptions End
by Serena530
Summary: Naruto reveals to one person his age that for the last 9 years he's been living a lie.  He decides that when he returns from his years of training with Jiraiya he'll be dropping the act and showing everyone who he really is.


**Disclaimer****: I do not own Naruto or his characters, and have no right to it except as a fan.**

**Deceptions End**

_Chapter One: Leaving Deception Behind_

She stood behind the oak tree, its trunk thick enough to hide her petit form, her short hair sliding against her left cheek as she peeked her head out to gaze at the painful scene before her.

Everyone was there. Master Jiraiya stood a few feet behind him, giving him his space to say his goodbyes. The Hokage stood by, already having given her goodbye along with Shizune, as everyone bid him farewell. Her teammates Shino and Kiba were there. She hoped they would pass on a farewell for her. Neji and his teammates were in attendance. Team Ten was there as well, and of course what was left of his team: Kakashi sensei and Sakura.

She looked on as some gave him a pat on the back, or a handshake, and others a hug or even a gift. She sighed sadly as Sakura hit him, as was her habit, and then gave him a hug. She hated that her fellow pink haired kunoichi had the tendency to hit him for almost every little thing he did or said, but she also envied her ability to easily speak to him and hug him whenever she wanted. She wished she could do that right now. This was her last chance to be near him after all. He would be gone three years.

_Naruto will be gone three whole years._

Hinata blinked back tears at the thought. It was really happening. He was leaving the village. She had to keep reminding herself that he would be back. That he was just going on an extended training trip and would be back before she knew it. But still…

_I won't be able to see him, I won't be able to hear him, I won't be able to be near him or even talk to him._ she thought sadly. _Not that it matters. I can't do half those things without stuttering or fainting outright._ she thought as she watched him, drinking in his every movement, rememorizing his appearance.

She wondered why she was doing this to herself. Why she was hiding behind a tree watching a boy who probably didn't even know she existed beyond being Neji's weird cousin.

_Because I can't help it._ she sighed, answering herself, as she continued to watch the impromptu farewell.

Hinata was in love and there was nothing she could do to change that. She didn't want to change it. It was like the old saying goes: you can't help who you love. Although, she was very aware that in her clan it didn't matter if you were in love. She had seen branch members in her clan forced to marry clan members they didn't like and sometimes members they didn't even know. She was sure that her father would marry her off to some random man who he felt was worthy of the clan. She was also sure that she would no longer be the Hyuga heiress when that happen.

_It'll go to Hanabi with her being the stronger and having the personality the Elders wanted their leader to have. They'll probably demand my byakugan be sealed before I'm married off as well._ she thought before her thoughts were silenced by her favorite hyper active orange clad ninja.

"Don't give that hat to anyone while I'm gone! You got that granny Tsunade!" she heard him yell as he began to walk backward toward Master Jiraiya.

She smiled at his words even as her eyes teared up again. They were walking away now. Each step he took brought him further and further away. Everyone else was starting to leave now that he was gone, but she kept watching him get smaller and smaller as she carefully moved around the tree to keep out of sight of the departing ninja's. She didn't want any pitying looks at the fact that she couldn't even summon the courage to say goodbye to him.

Once they were out of sight Hinata moved back to her original position as she prepared to activate her byakugan. She would watch him until he was no longer in her range, and then…well she hadn't planned that far yet but she would probably go to one of the training grounds and sulk and cry at the loss of her inspiration and love.

Just as she was raising her hands to help her focus her chakra she felt a light tap on her right shoulder. She spun around, throwing her hand out in a palm strike in her surprise, and gasped when two warm hands wrapped around her wrist to halt her sudden attack.

"Whoa! Easy there." she heard a soft male voice say and she squeaked, her face flooding with heat as she recognized the person standing before her.

"N…Naruto?" she said, her soft voice shocked and confused. Hadn't she just watched him walk away with Master Jiraiya? She turned her head to look around the tree even though she knew that they were long gone. Was she imagining him standing in front of her? No, because she could feel his hands wrapped around her wrist.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." he said quietly as he slowly released her wrist.

"H…how are y…you he…here?" she stuttered out, trying desperately to hold on to her consciousness as the realization that Naruto had been willingly touching her began to sink pass her shock and surprise. "Y…yo…you…j…just…l…l…" she couldn't even finish her sentence she was stuttering so badly, but he seemed to understand her choppy unfinished sentence.

"I'm a clone." he answered with a small smile. "The original left me with specific instructions." he continued softly, his eyes never leaving her face.

They stood there in the waning light of the sunset just gazing at each other as the sky slowly began to darken. His eyes watched her with a surprising intent as she focused on calming herself. She couldn't afford to faint right now. Especially with him being a clone. She didn't know how long he would last.

"Let's go some place private. I'm not suppose to let anyone else see me." he said and began to stealthily lead her to a spot away from the residential and financial areas of the village and away from frequently used training grounds. They settled down in an area of grass, weeds, and wild flowers surrounded by tall trees. A training ground long out of use because of its distance. Once again they were facing each other, watching…waiting. Finally, Naruto sighed.

"So…I guess you're probably wondering why you're here. Why I'm even talking to you." he said, easily talking on the first person speech of the original, as he continued to watch her, taking in every detail he could. The way her two index fingers pushed against each other, occasionally twirling around each other. The way her shoulders hunched forward slightly as if warding off something unpleasant. The way her head bow forward, her short hair sliding against her cheeks, her pearl lavender eyes peeking at him only to look away when she saw him still looking at her.

Hinata nodded hesitantly and he took a breath and continued on.

"It's because we have a lot to talk about. Well…more like I have a lot to tell you." he explained and sighed as he ran his fingers over the grass. "First and foremost, I know that you like me." he said and watched as her eyes widened in surprise and a blush heat her cheeks. "I've known since around our last year at the academy." he revealed.

"At first I wasn't sure since we never spent any time together or really talked, but I had noticed how much you watched me so I began to watch you to try and find out and to learn more about you." he continued and leaned forward to better see her eyes since she had gone back to looking down after her initial surprise.

"I found that you weren't like the other girls in our class. That you weren't falling all over Sasuke like the rest of them. I also noticed that you seemed to be fine talking to people when I wasn't around. You were still quiet, but there was no stuttering or fainting. There was just you being…you." he said softly and watched her face get redder.

"So…so you're n…not an…angry with me?" she stuttered in her soft voice, not looking up as she repeatedly pushed her fingers together.

"Angry? Why would I be angry?" he asked in confusion as he tilted his head slightly to the side like a curious animal.

"For watching you so m…much." she said, mentally cheering herself for only stuttering once.

"No. I'm not angry." he said quietly. "I'm flattered, grateful. Maybe a mix of both." he considered. "It's just, you can't imagine how I felt when I figured out how you felt about me. I was definitely surprised and shocked. Then I was happy…and confused." he said with a light frown.

"Con…confused?" she asked quietly with a confused frown.

"I was, actually I still am confused about what you could possibly see in me." he admitted.

Hinata's eyes widened at his admission. He was confused about what she saw in him? How could that be? How could he not know? How could he not see what she saw everyday? Was he really ignorant of the effect he had on people? The strength and determination he showed to never give up even when the odds seemed to be against him was an inspiration she could hardly describe. The bright smile he wore everyday that matched his blond hair. The happiness that he radiated when he laughed always cheered her up and made her smile when she was down. And he was so cute! With his big smile, wild bright hair, infectious laugh, and adorable jump suit, how could he not be?

She hadn't realized it but she had begun to try and explain this to him. Hesitating and stuttering in the beginning, but her voice becoming steady and stronger the further she got as she unconsciously spilt her heart out to the one person she never thought she could but the one person who deserved it.

Naruto sat silently, listening with rapt attention as he watched her face, her emotions reflecting in her pearly lavender eyes. He could hardly believe what she was saying but he knew that it was the truth. He knew that Hinata wouldn't lie to him. The strength of her voice and animation of her face alone was enough to convince him. It was still hard to believe, especially with what he still had to reveal to her, but he believed her.

"I would have told you how I felt sooner but I…I couldn't. I was afraid." she said so quietly that he barely heard her. "Maybe a part of me hoped that you would find out on your own or someone would tell you. That way I wouldn't have to."

"Yeah because everyone knew." he said as he rolled his eyes. That had always irritated him. To know that everyone knew and didn't tell him or even give him a hint. It just grated on his nerves and made it all the harder to play the role he had given himself.

"I understand why you couldn't tell me. I just hate that everyone around us knew and didn't even feel the need to give me a hint. Never mind that I already knew. The gesture would have been nice." he said with a frustrated sigh.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Hinata asked quietly after a stretch of silence.

Naruto immediately knew what she meant and sighed sadly as he unzipped his jacket to give himself a little time to focus his thoughts into something she could understand.

"Well, for two reasons. The first is that the role I was playing wouldn't allow me to." he answered and watched as a cute little confused frown formed on her face. "Hinata, the Naruto you like so much doesn't really exist. The big happy smiles, the loudness, the insane consumption of ramen, behaving like an idiot, all the orange, and most importantly the crush on Sakura. It was all fake. A deception I created and have been maintaining since I was five." he explained.

"Don't get me wrong. Some of it was real. I still really like ramen, I just don't have to eat it the way I do or as much as I do. As for those big happy smiles…well I have very little to be happy about." he said with a humorless laugh.

"And the crush on Sakura." he said, shaking his head. "I did like her for a while. She was smart and pretty…and believe it or not she use to be nice to me. It was before we started at the academy and definitely before I started my little act of deception. The academy wasn't the first place I'd ever seen or met everyone our age. Most of us played at the park together, and I played with her there a few times. She was nice and friendly. You know, like how she is with most people who are sad or when she's talking to a stranger." he explained, knowing that Hinata knew enough about her personality to understand.

"Then one day her mother came to pick her up and she apparently didn't like her daughter playing with me. After that day she wouldn't come near me. I didn't understand what I'd done to make her mother so angry. And she _was _angry. Very. So I figured that Sakura had gotten into trouble and didn't want to get into trouble again, so I stopped trying to talk to her and left her alone. I was sad since I didn't exactly have any friends, and I had begun to consider her one, but I didn't want to cause problems so I let it go."

"I didn't really see her again until we started at the academy and by that time I was already playing the idiot, but still…I had remembered her being nice and friendly and I didn't think she would treat me differently because of that. I'd thought that since we were in school together her mother couldn't be too angry with us being friends since it wasn't like we could help being around each other being in the same class as we were."

"But Sakura wasn't as nice and friendly as I remembered…at least not to me. I didn't like it and I didn't understand it, but I'd given her the benefit of doubt and chalked it up to her buying into my deception just like everyone else. So as time passed and she became one of those girls who was determined to get Sasuke, I decided that I was going to add her to my deception. I had hoped that if I could get her to go out with me, then we'd spend more time together and she would see pass the act I put up. She'd see it for what it was." he continued.

"But over time I began to realize that I was starting to like her and that I really _did _want her to go out with me." he said with a sigh. "But at the same time I was confusing myself. I wasn't sure if my feelings for her were real or a part of the deception as they were meant to be." he admitted. "I had to take a few days away from school so that I could go over my feelings as myself and not be in the mindset of class clown and dead last."

"Turns out my feelings were real, but again time passed and I realized or finally let myself notice that she was becoming someone I didn't _want _to like. And my feelings began to slowly fade. It was around that time when I'd started to watch you. And like I said before, I'd noticed that you weren't like the other girls. That you weren't like Sakura. Especially after we'd graduated and gotten our teams. I'd noticed how much time you spent training, even without your team, and I liked that. Sakura only trained when our whole team was together and even if I wasn't sure of that fact, our first mission away from the village made that frighteningly clear." he explained with a frown.

"I'm sure you heard about how our mission went from C to A-ranked." he said and watched as Hinata nodded. "Every time we'd been attacked it was all of us fighting except for her. She stood in front of our client holding a kunai, trembling, and cheering Sasuke on when she could. I didn't allow myself to think about it at the time because we'd needed to focus, but after we made it back to the village I thought about it and I was more then a little disturbed to realize that she had been spending most of her time trying to make herself look pretty for Sasuke and trying to find ways to get his attention then training herself to be a better ninja."

"Then the Chuunin Exams came. During the second part of the exam she was almost useless. I supposed I could give her a break seeing as how we were up against one of the Senin, but we didn't know that at the time and the guys strength didn't stop me from at least trying. I found it more then irritating that with all the talk about how much she likes Sasuke she didn't even lift a finger to try and save him from that guy." he complained with a frown.

"If none of that was enough to get rid of any lingering feelings then the fact that she used me certainly did. When Sasuke left the village she came to me and begged me to bring him back. She basically used what she thought was my feelings for her to get what she wanted." he explained in a bitter tone.

Hinata was shocked and surprised at what he had explained to her. She was happy that he no longer had any feelings for Sakura. Ecstatic really. She was also reevaluating what she thought of Sakura. She hadn't thought that his female team mate would neglect her training in such a way. It was giving kunoichi all around a bad name. Even Ino, to her knowledge, was better then that. But maybe that wasn't saying much considering how it was a double knockout for them in the Chuunin Exams. She had to admit that it also irritated her that Sakura didn't help save Sasuke. She claimed to have all these feelings for him and that she was best for him, but when it came down to it she couldn't even fight for him. Hinata admitted to herself that if it had been her in such a situation she would have done all she could to help Naruto, and that would have been without him knowing how she felt. Although with his revelations just a few minutes ago, he would have known.

But…the Naruto she loved didn't exist. He said so himself. He had been deceiving everyone for years. Why had he done it though? There had to be a good reason right?

"I…I'm…h…hap…happy that you don't like her anymore." she stuttered, blushing at saying that out loud but smiling all the same. "But why…why the deception?" she asked softly.

Naruto sighed. It was time. He just hoped she didn't react badly.

"The answer to that is the second reason, although at the time I didn't know it, and it's also the reason for my leaving the village for training." he answered and took a deep breath.

"I did it because it was safer." he said simply. "People are less likely to hurt you if you act stupid and don't show any intelligence." he began. "I'm sure you noticed the way people look at me, the glares and hateful looks?" he asked and watched her nod with a cute frown. "Well…lets just say that some people didn't leave it at glares and hateful looks, and showing what little intelligence I had at that age only made it worse." he explained and watched her pearly lavender eyes widen in horror as she understood what he wasn't saying.

"Why?" she breathed, too horrified to speak louder.

"You remember the story about how the Fourth killed the Kyuubi right?" he asked and received a nod. "Well, it was a lie. The Fourth was powerful but not even he was powerful enough to stop a demon who could cause natural disasters with one swing of one tail. The only thing he could do was seal it." he explained as he watched her try to take in everything he was saying. "He sealed it into the only thing that could hold it safely. Can you guess?" he asked quietly.

His shy admirer didn't have to take long to guess. He wouldn't have been telling her if it didn't involve him, and with all that he had told her so far and remembering how he was treated it didn't take long to put the pieces together.

"You." Hinata whispered sadly, trying to imagine what his life was like before she knew he existed, before she started watching him. She suddenly understood why Sakura's mother didn't want her to play with him. She knew what he contained!

"Yeah. Me. Born just hours before the Yondaime sacrificed both our lives to save this village." he said quietly as he looked around them, knowing that the village wouldn't exist if it wasn't for him, and not exactly sure how he felt about it.

Naruto was brought out of his somber musings as he watched Hinata wrap her arms around him and bury her face in his neck. He stiffened automatically, never having been hugged like this before. At first he didn't know what to do, but then his mind started working again and he wrapped his arms around her and did his best to return the hug.

The first thing that ran through his mind was to wonder how much courage it had taken her to do that, and then he realized that he was having his first real hug. It was nice. Comforting.

"Thank you." he heard her whisper. "If you hadn't been born I wouldn't exist."

He was shocked. No one had ever thanked him before. Everyone just praised the Forth for getting rid of it, but he was the one who had to go on living and containing the demon fox for the rest of his life. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to cry, but he couldn't. It just wouldn't come out. Maybe he was broken…

"You're welcome." he whispered back to her and watched her pull back only to see a blushing wet face that held a warm smile.

That smile reminded him all over again that she liked him. She wasn't pretending, she wasn't feeling sorry for him. She actually liked him. She liked him enough to spend what free time she had outside of training to watch him, she liked him enough to blush, liked him enough to faint when he was too close. He was still shocked. She was pretty much the princess of Konoha, and he…he was the orphan nobody wanted and everyone hated.

"Now you know why. Those are the reasons I never said anything. I couldn't say anything without having to explain why I didn't like Sakura, and I couldn't do that without revealing my deception." he explained. "Oh! And I didn't find out about Kyuubi being inside me until the day I failed the Genin Exam. I found out that night actually." he added.

"I understand." she said softly. "So…why now? Is it because you're leaving?" she asked, even though she knew that he was already long gone. The clone was using first person speech so she would go with it as well.

"Yes. It is, which brings me to the reason why I have to leave. I told everyone that it was to get strong enough to bring Sasuke back, but really it was to get strong enough to protect myself." he said with a sigh. "There's this group of S and SS-class ninja that are after people like me. They want the demon. I'm not exactly sure how they would go about that, but I'm almost sure that it won't leave me alive." he explained.

Hinata paled at the thought of her love dying. She could hardly believed it. These people didn't care about his life at all, just the demon he housed in his body. They didn't care that the world would be darker without him in it, didn't care that he would be missed, didn't care that they would be breaking someone's heart.

"There's a reason…" she heard him say, cutting into her sad thoughts. "why I'm telling you all of this. There's something I wanted to ask you. Although, even now I'm still having doubts. I'm not sure I should ask you at all. Still, I needed you to know all of this before I even attempted to ask." he rambled before he paused and took a deep breath. "Like I said before, I know that you like me…" he trailed off, seeing something in her eyes that told him she had something to say.

_This is it Hinata._ she coached herself. _This is your chance to tell him exactly how much you like him. If you don't get the answer you like, it won't be so bad since he's just a clone. I'd have three years to get over it._

"I…I…don't…" she trailed off, unsure of herself as she looked down at her hands. _How can I tell him how I feel when according to him I don't really know him?_ she thought as she peeked up at him only to look down quickly as she saw his blue eyes trained on her. _It doesn't matter. I think the most important things about him are true, and those are the things my feelings are based on._

"I don't just…like you. I…I love you. I know that you said that I don't really know you, but I think that I know the most essential parts of your personality and that those are true and those are what my feelings are based on." she finished with a relieved sigh, extremely grateful that she had finally told him. That her secret wasn't weighing down on her anymore.

Naruto was more then shocked. She loved him! He believed her because he knew she wasn't the kind of person to lie about something like that. He never suspected her feelings to go beyond simply liking him. But here she was, telling him that she loved him even after learning that he had spent most of his life living a lie, even after learning that he had powerful enemies, even after learning that he housed the demon that killed so many and nearly destroyed the village.

"I…I'm shocked." he stuttered as he blinked wide eyes. "I'm not going to lie to you and say that I return those feelings." he said and watched her face drop and tears form in her pearly lavender eyes. "I can't because I don't know you that well, but I do like you from what I do know." he said quickly and watched as hope appeared in her watery eyes. "So I'll just go ahead and ask what I was going to." he continued and took a steadying breath.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked softly and watched her face redden and her eyes widen. As she opened her mouth he lifted a hand and placed his index finger on her lips so she wouldn't speak.

"I don't want an answer now even though it's clear you're ready to give one." he said with a light laugh. "I know I've said that we don't really know each other, but I think we feel enough for each other to start a relationship. I thought we could get to know each other when I get back. If you say yes anyway." he said with a shrug.

"But I don't want you to answer until I get back. I want you to really think about everything I've revealed to you and if you still feel the same then I'm all for finding out where it will take us. Okay?" he finished as he lowered his hand.

Hinata nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll think about everything. I promise." she said softly.

"Good." he said with a soft smile. "Oh! The whole deal about Kyuubi, it's an S-class secret punishable by death." he said quickly and watched her face pale. "But it's okay though. It's my secret, so I can tell anyone I want. You're the only one our age that I've told."

His admirer blushed at the knowledge that he hadn't told any of the other rookies his secret.

"All of the adults know, so if you need to talk about it or whatever you're feeling about it then it's okay to go to them." he assured her and got to his feet and helped her to hers, amused as he watched her face get redder from the simple considerate action.

"I should go." he said with a sigh, still holding her hands. "Train hard okay? I want to come back and see how much more stronger you are." he continued with a smile as he released one of her hands and gently touched her cheek. He knew the original would like the gesture. It would be something to remember when his training got tough or unbearable.

The blushing girl could only nod, completely speechless from his touch as she struggled not to faint.

"I'll come find you as soon as I get back. You can give me your answer then okay?" he said as he moved his hand to run his fingers through her short hair. It was so silky and soft.

Again Hinata nodded and breathed out an "okay". At least she thought she did. She couldn't hear with all the blood rushing through her ears.

Naruto leaned in slowly, wanting to kiss her, wondering if her lips were as soft as her hands or her cheek. He could feel her warm breath against his face, feel the heat radiating from her bright blush. His hooded eyes took in her slightly closed ones. But he caught himself just before their lips touched. He wasn't the original and the original would _not _like that, so he moved his lips to the side and kissed her cheek close to her lips.

"Sorry." he whispered in her ear. "The original would not be happy if he wasn't here to share this first kiss." he continued before moving away from the red faced beauty in front of him.

"Goodbye Hinata." he said, holding back a sad sigh. He didn't want to leave, didn't want to have to wait three years before they could start to get to know each other.

"G…goodbye Naruto. Be safe." she managed to get out as she held her hands together against her chest.

"I will. I promise." the clone replied before bringing his hands together in a hand sign. "Release." With that last word the clone burst into a cloud of smoke.

Hinata stood there watching the white smoke thin until it was gone. She couldn't believe everything that had just happened, everything she had just learned. It was a lot to process and she would definitely take her time thinking through it all just as he asked. She didn't, however, need to think about her answer to him. Her answer was a clear and resounding _yes_.

Even with all she had learned. Maybe even more now because of it. She would be the one to make him happy. She was determined! She would give him real laughs and real smiles. She would be there for him, stand up for him, protect him. She would do it all because he deserved no less. She couldn't makeup for all of his painful childhood but she would do her best to make his future the best it could be.

_I have a lot of thinking to do,_ she thought with a sigh. _and a lot of training as well._ she continued before looking up at the dark sky. _I'll start tomorrow. I have plenty of motivation to keep me going until he gets back._

With that last thought the shy Hyuga began to make her way home to begin preparations for the next stage in her young life.

oOoOoOo

Naruto blinked and paused in his action of catching dinner as he processed the memories of his recently dispelled clone. He stood almost waist deep in the river, shocked at the memories that stood out. Hinata loved him! She hugged him and _thanked _him. He thought she might be the first person to ever even _consider _thanking him. But what really stuck out was that his clone had almost kissed her! He hadn't told it to do that! But then he knew what he felt for the shy girl, and he could tell what his clone had been feeling at the time and with all that, it really came as no surprise.

He was just glad that the clone had held itself back. It had been right. He wouldn't have liked that. If he was going to kiss Hinata he wanted it to be the real him and not a clone. But that aside, he was grateful for the gestures the clone made. Thankful for the memory of how silky her hair was, how soft her skin was, how her skin felt against his lips, how warm she was, and how good she smelled. He hoped he would dream about it, about her.

He barely knew her but he definitely liked her with what he did know, and was missing her already. She had taken all of his revelations better then he thought she would, but after a moments thought he realized that he shouldn't have expected anything less. She was too nice and caring to react any other way.

He couldn't wait to get back to her. If she wanted, she would have the real Naruto.


End file.
